AGAINST THE CURRENT

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)

On the road, by the riverbank, Lidubino meets his friend Tucho. Seeing Lidubino hurrying, Tucho asks, “Where are you going in such a rush, my friend?” Lidubino happily replies, smiling, “To the river! I’m going to swim against the current!” “What!” exclaims Tucho. “You’re crazy! Swimming against the current? You could get electrocuted!”

Today, we Christians urgently need to heed God’s word: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.” In other words, we must “swim against the current,” going against what the world and its pleasures offer and propose as right and true.

Swimming against the current means:

- Living a life free from alcohol and drugs. The world and friends will tell you, "Let's eat and drink, let's get drunk, for tomorrow we die..."

- We must live a life of marital fidelity. Surely some will say, "One is no good," we should have two, three, or four wives. That's not true! We must swim against the current; we are only allowed one wife.

- "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul," says the commandment (Matthew 22:37), and the world tells us to love money first, to love your house and possessions more, to love power and fame more...

- There are countless attacks from the enemies of the Church of Christ. Their goal is to make us doubt the existence of God. They want to snatch away our faith and steal it from us. They want to make us believe that this life is the only one and that there is no other.  They even tell us in rhyme: “Seize the day, seagull, for there is no other like it”… we must keep swimming against the current, otherwise we will shipwreck our faith (1 Timothy 1:18).

In short, if we want to reach the promised land, we will have to swim against the current; we will have to fight every day with fear and trembling for our salvation (Philippians 2:12). Amen.

Author: Adhemar Cuellar Zuñiga